I'm missing having a 1.9tdi to be honest, i liked having the performance and the economy. 

 

Im thinking of buying another as a bit of an odd toy on a budget.  Have about £3000/£3400ish to play with. 

 

My current idea is. 

A 1.9tdi 'thing' for about a grand/£1250  i.e  a leon or an old golf or a3, octavia, fabia etc preferably a pd, then aim for around 220bhp

I can fit all the parts myself.

 

was thinking -

VAG 1.9tdi thing within £1200 budget, for the sake of example, a tdi pd100 bora.   -£1200

Garret Gt2260 (maybe smaller?)  - £800

PD150 injectors - £200

uprated clutch and smf £450

mapping £300

 

= £2950    est about 230bhp?

 

Peoples thoughts on this?

My idea is to just do it on a budget and spare the stuff thats not really necessary.

 

With 3K what is the quickest 1.9tdi thing you could build?  and what spec would you recommend?  
 

 

Arent you going to be looking at cars with massively high mileage for that price range?

Then tuning something on its last legs?

I could well be wrong

very low spec cars don't hold their value as well, and the way i see it with the 1.9TDi the engines seem to last forever as long as they are warmed up and serviced well and as long as the gearbox selects every gear fine it will be spot on. If its a 100bhp diesel its not going to have had a life of abuse and track days is it. 

Its all the stuff strapped round the engine that wears out, and its all that consumable stuff thats going to be replaced.  New clutch, new flywheel, new injectors and new turbo. give the engine a service and it will be spot on i would have thought. 

You'll probably only need a GTB1756vk on a cast manifold for that sort of money.  A GTB2260 will require a custom manifold, plus exhaust work too.

will a GTB1756 be big enough for 220bhp? maybe more if I'm lucky... haha

I know the 2260 will flow up 300+ its a big turbo. 

Just looked, recon place that is selling one welded onto a 1.9tdi manifold thinks that they are good for 230bhp so guess thats spot on. Bit cheaper to.

The engine may be reliable but buying a cheap base car might give you two issues:

1. It might not have been looked after, so won't be as reliable as you expect. Cheap for a reason?

2. There is a lot to go wrong other than the engine.

Buying a cheap old unloved 1.9tdi could be a headache.

Been there, done that.

At this price point you are buying a car that may well have issues it's not worth the seller fixing as it's not cost effective.

Seen a few that were Bodge it up and move it on... (To me)

When these things go wrong have you got the potential repairs budgeted in too and other characteristics to make the car drive able, like decent tŷres rather than ditch finders likely to be on a cheap one, decent suspension and brakes to allow the cr to stop and corner, it's not all about the power. As Richard has said there's a reason why cars are cheap, My heap is a prime example however after plenty of money it will hit a sweet spot. It is however cheaper to get a decent one in the first place,

Yeah, as i'm thinking about it, i think it may be better to buy one thats already been done. 
I will ponder the idea more and see what happens. 

A PD150 hybrid will be big enough for 220bhp. :P  A 1756vk just gives the option to do it comfortably.

Yeah, as i'm thinking about it, i think it may be better to buy one thats already been done.

I will ponder the idea more and see what happens.

While it's not as personal to deciding spec yourself, it's far cheaper!

While it's not as personal to deciding spec yourself, it's far cheaper!

And the likely hood is that it will have been cared for a lot more and hopefully run well.

And the likely hood is that it will have been cared for a lot more and hopefully run well.

Or thrashed until parts started to look like they were failing, so sold to save expense.

Used = take your chances!

May be my luck, but every older car (5+ years old) has turned out to have an issue pop up within a short amount of time. Usually not a cheap thing either.

One exception.

Cat C crashed Fantasy Green Fabia.

They were not planning to get shot of it...

Edit: scrap that, the AirCon didn't work!

May be my luck, but every older car (5+ years old) has turned out to have an issue pop up within a short amount of time. Usually not a cheap thing either.

One exception.

Cat C crashed Fantasy Green Fabia.

They were not planning to get shot of it...

Edit: scrap that, the AirCon didn't work!

Yeah, I've had countless issues with every vehicle I've owned and they've all been at least 8 years old, Fabias were cheapest, Combo 2 most expensive :(

Not interested in things like brakes or handling? A PD130 with a remap, brakes and handling mods will be quicker than a bodged 220bhp attempt with no thought to anything else.

When these things go wrong have you got the potential repairs budgeted in too and other characteristics to make the car drive able, like decent tŷres rather than ditch finders likely to be on a cheap one, decent suspension and brakes to allow the cr to stop and corner, it's not all about the power. As Richard has said there's a reason why cars are cheap, My heap is a prime example however after plenty of money it will hit a sweet spot. It is however cheaper to get a decent one in the first place,

 

I'd totally agree with this, case in point being my cheap Ibiza PD130. Yep, it's legal and goes well, but if I wanted it to go fast, I'd probably spend the same as what I paid for the car sorting out niggles before I could start modding. 

How do you plan on stopping and going round corners?

Sounds a terrible idea from the outset imo

He has the combined abilities of the Clio, Fiesta & Sierra for going fast, going around corners and stopping in no particular order or necessarily

with each of them.

Mate what exactly are you trying to acheive? If you want a toy, something that is fun and will put a smile on your face, you can buy something that will out perform a 1.9 tdi very easily without having to spend a penny on it other than what it initially cost you.

Just want a daily, something i can plod up and down the motorway, something to park in carparks and not be concerned about, something to fill with 4 mates or the dog and not have to worry about spills and marks and at the same time something that has some poke. 

 

I'm not going to be doing any track days in it, you can get your pitchforks ready, but I'm pretty confident that no matter what you can do to a bora tdi or an octavia tdi, it won't be able to do a lap of Cadwell much quicker than a corner weighted and stripped out 182 cup with semi slicks. The cossy hauls ass! But breaks and breaks and breaks, whilst averaging about 20mpg. Far from a daily. 

 

A big smokey bora bus with 220 would be a real laugh and all you young Hamiltons should know that the brakes are more than suitable for road use. 

think I'm just going to buy a pd160 ibiza and put a map on it, but i do really like the idea of a scruffy old diesel sleeper.

U'd drop very lucky if there had to be a local PD130 that say the bodywork was below average, but it ran 200bhp+ with a hybrid and to quote you would do just "Just want a daily, something i can plod up and down the motorway, something to park in carparks and not be concerned about, something to fill with 4 mates or the dog and not have to worry about spills and marks and at the same time something that has some poke. "

 

Would no doubt have high mileage but they last forever. If you looked at a early Ibiza or Fabia it will be more fun IMHO than a bigger Bora type car. But 2003 onwards...

Just want a daily, something i can plod up and down the motorway, something to park in carparks and not be concerned about, something to fill with 4 mates or the dog and not have to worry about spills and marks and at the same time something that has some poke.

I'm not going to be doing any track days in it, you can get your pitchforks ready, but I'm pretty confident that no matter what you can do to a bora tdi or an octavia tdi, it won't be able to do a lap of Cadwell much quicker than a corner weighted and stripped out 182 cup with semi slicks. The cossy hauls ass! But breaks and breaks and breaks, whilst averaging about 20mpg. Far from a daily.

A big smokey bora bus with 220 would be a real laugh and all you young Hamiltons should know that the brakes are more than suitable for road use.

think I'm just going to buy a pd160 ibiza and put a map on it, but i do really like the idea of a scruffy old diesel sleeper.

Got a 182 have you?

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A semi slick shod stripped out 182 is awesome around Cadwell.  Seem to stick very well.  Not saying how my little diesel compares, but I can verify it's no quicker in the corners even when it has semi slicks on as well

A semi slick shod stripped out 182 is awesome around Cadwell. Seem to stick very well. Not saying how my little diesel compares, but I can verify it's no quicker in the corners even when it has semi slicks on as well

I'd quite like a turbo 182, :P

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